This invention relates to a cassette-type container for a sheet-like member and to an automatic feeding system, including such container, for feeding the sheet-like member. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a dust-shield cassette for containing a photomask or a reticle, for use in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, and also with an automatic feeding system usable with such dust-shield cassette for feeding the photomask or reticle and suitably applicable to a semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus.
In the manufacture of semiconductor devices such as integrated circuits (ICs), large scaled integrated circuits (LSIs) and very large scaled integrated circuits (VLSIs), there are many problems which have not been solved satisfactorily. One of these problems is prevention of adhesion of dust or foreign particles onto the mask or reticle (which hereinafter will be referred to simply as "mask"). If any foreign particles adhere to the mask having a very minute circuit pattern to be transferred onto a silicon wafer or the like, these foreign particles will damage the circuit pattern transferred onto the wafer. This results in degradation of performance of the semiconductor devices. In a worst case, the semiconductor devices do not function at all.
In conventional semiconductor device manufacturing exposure apparatuses, an operator has to move the mask with his hands onto a mask holder of the exposure apparatus. Since the operator is a substantive source of foreign particles, there is a high possibility that foreign particles flown out from the operator adhere to the mask during such manual handling of the mask. In addition, the recent increase in size or diameter of the mask makes the handling of the mask difficult, which is liable to cause damage of the mask due to careless mishanding by the operator.
In view of this, there have been desired development of a dust-shield container for the mask and development of an automatic feeding/loading system for automatically feeding/loading the mask without the aid of operator's hands.